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Smart Grid Achilles Heel
by Andrew McCaskey
Today’s article on Electronmagnetic Pulse (EMP) attack at any Smart Grid that the US might install is one more example of Asymetrical Warfare – where a poor nation or terrorist force can wreck havoc way out of proportion to the actualy military impact of an action, going for one vulnerability of a technologically superior foe.
A high altitude (100km) detonation of a nuclear device can permanently disable – to varying degrees – virtually all types of communications and control electronics. The transition of the current electrical distribution system into an IP-enabled intelligent system (or at least communicating to centralized intelligence nodes) holds great promise in load shedding, load management, and management of the perennial ‘peak to average’ problem that faces power generation and transmission.
Thus, mitigation of one form of vulnerability (shifting from imported fuels to domestially fueled electrical generation) carries with it an increased potential weakness elsewhere in the system, when faced with a nuclear threat. As certain congress members have pointed out, the requirements – other than some form of nuclear device – are on the order of the 9-11 attacks: a seaworthy freighter to bring the device close to the US shoreline, and and $100,000 Scud class missile system to boost the nuclear device high enough to do the damage. With a max altitude of 150km, the SCUD-B is well within it’s capabilties, if the device is small enough.
Reason to stop the smart grid ? Not at all. Figure in the probabilities of a device that works, is the right size, and gets delivered.Plus the fact that the US knows more or less what to look for, and from where. The consequences of not building a smart grid are a lot more real.
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